When cash flow tightens, the next 90 days can determine whether a business regains control or loses it.
Here’s how structured negotiation and short-term stabilisation can protect trading continuity and credibility.
Cash flow pressure rarely explodes overnight. It builds gradually, then suddenly feels urgent.
Invoices take longer to collect. Supplier terms tighten. The ATO balance grows quietly in the background. Directors often respond by juggling payments week to week, trying to keep everyone partially satisfied. But reactive payments don’t stabilise a business. They stretch it thinner.
The first step in any cash-flow rescue isn’t negotiation. It’s containment.
For the next 90 days, the focus needs to shift from growth to control. That means identifying which payments protect revenue and operations, and which can be delayed without triggering enforcement. Payroll, core suppliers and key service providers usually sit at the top of that list. Non-essential outflows need to pause.
At the same time, visibility must improve. A realistic 13-week cash forecast often reveals more than a set of annual projections ever could. It shows when pressure peaks, where gaps emerge and how much flexibility actually exists. Without that clarity, negotiations are based on hope rather than evidence.
Supplier management becomes critical during this phase. Most suppliers prefer structured communication over silence. A clear proposal, backed by numbers, can preserve trading terms even if payments are temporarily reduced. Avoiding the conversation, on the other hand, erodes goodwill quickly.
The ATO requires a similar approach. Interest and penalties continue to accrue, but early engagement can prevent escalation. What matters is not simply requesting a payment plan, but demonstrating sustainability. A proposal that reflects genuine capacity — even if modest — is more credible than an ambitious promise that defaults within months.
A 90-day rescue plan is not about solving every problem immediately. It’s about buying time in a controlled way. Stabilising cash. Rebuilding confidence with key stakeholders. Preventing enforcement action that narrows future options.
We often see businesses improve dramatically once the noise reduces. When directors know exactly what must be paid, what can be negotiated, and what the runway looks like, decision-making becomes calmer. Pressure shifts from reactive crisis management to structured recovery.
At Tax Negotiators, we guide businesses through this containment phase before formal recovery conversations even begin. Because when cash flow is sequenced properly, the business regains leverage.
Cash stress does not automatically mean failure. But without a structured plan, it can spiral quickly.
The first 90 days are rarely about perfection. They are about discipline, communication and evidence.
Handled well, that window can change the trajectory of the entire outcome.
